The present invention relates to electric cooking appliances that typically stand on a table top such as a work surface in a kitchen. Such appliances are well known in the art and include a housing having an electric heating element. Typically, the heating element is connected to and permanently attached to a platen making up the heating surface. In cooking appliances of the prior art, if the heated platen or cooking surface is not removable, it is difficult to clean the cooking surface. This is because the heating element and wiring typically cannot be wetted and certainly not immersed in water to wash the cooking surface, unless properly sealed.
One attempt to overcome or reduce this problem has been to provide removable and disposable liners for the platens that can be removed and washed, or disposed of, respectively. However, there is difficulty and expense associated with preparing suitably configured liners for ensuring good heat transfer between the heated platens and the liner. With disposable liners, the procedure to wholly remove and replace the liner is not always efficient, in that parts of the liner may stick to the heated platen, and suitable liner material can be difficult to find or can be expensive in many instances. This is especially true with relatively high temperature cooking surfaces, such as needed for a griddle or a skillet.
Electric cooking appliances have also been suggested that include removable cooking surfaces for purposes of cleaning the cooking surface. However, such prior art cooking appliances have drawbacks. In many instances the platen making up the cooking surface is not sufficiently secured to the base of the appliance or is difficult to remove from the base.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a cooking appliance that includes a cooking surface that is adequately secured to the base of the appliance and is also easily removed from the base. It would also be desirable to allow the cooking surface to be easily removed for cleaning and/or directly function as a serving dish for the prepared food.